Copihue Blossoms Brighten a Boat
in Valdivia's Floating Market
Chile's national flower, the copihue (Lapageria
rosea), grows wild in gullies and forests. Red,
pink, or white, the waxy blossoms bloom on
vines from October to July.
"Every Chilean
likes to see them on his table," says the author.
Valdivia, called the Venice of Chile, stands
at the junction of two rivers 11 miles upstream
from the Pacific. Broad bayous lacing the
region encourage the use of water transport.
Valdivia's river front lets farmers peddle their
wares without unloading boats.
Founded in 1552, the city takes its name
from Pedro de Valdivia, the conqueror and
first governor of Chile. German immigrants
in the mid-1800's left a Teutonic imprint.
Hungry lad gobbles a sea urchin on the
Valdivia waterfront. Cracked like a nut, the
spiny delicacy yields pulpy orange-colored flesh
tasting strongly of iodine. Gourmets, who
eat the urchins raw, also relish the spider-sized
parasite crabs found inside the shell.
Chile's coastal waters harbor more than 200
kinds of fish. Excellent oysters come from
the Gulf of Ancud. Crayfish reach lobster
size in the Juan Fernindez Islands, 415 miles
west of Valparaiso. These crustaceans sus
tained Alexander Selkirk, a castaway sailor
whose adventures led Daniel Defoe to write
his immortal story of Robinson Crusoe.
Spanish.
"I have a right to my own self."
She continued with surprising eloquence,
emphasizing such words as dignidad, re
serva, and derechos (rights).
Even among themselves the Araucanians
seem to lead antisocial lives. In an In
dian village I visited near Temuco, their
thatched rucas stood well apart from one
another. Yet I could not help admiring
these stout-hearted Mapuches-"people of
the earth," as they call themselves.
One of the wettest regions of Chile, the
Lake District thinks nothing of 100 inches
of rain a year. Near here Darwin noted
that "so much rain falls.... to have a week
of fine weather is something wonderful."
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